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College Summer Research Fellows Fund

Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the College Summer Research Fellows Fund provides grants to support summer research opportunities for undergraduate students who plan to pursue a doctoral degree in a liberal arts or science field.

Eligibility

Second- and third-year students of all majors with a strong interest in pursuing a Ph.D program in the liberal arts or sciences may apply. The program regrettably cannot fund opportunities for students pursuing technical or professional doctoral programs (e.g., JD or MD).

Students may request funding for summer research assistantship positions with faculty or their own independent summer project. Even if they are pursuing an independent project, however, all candidates must secure a UChicago faculty mentor to support and guide them throughout the summer and provide feedback on their project. The project should require approximately 400 hours of work over the entire summer. Both domestic and international projects are eligible.

*Important note: students must be activated for on-campus recruiting in order to apply. To get activated, make an appointment to have your resume reviewed by a Career Advancement adviser and sign the on-campus recruiting policy agreement. If you are seeing the error message “Additional special criteria have been set by your career center. Please contact them for more information” when you view the program listing on UChicago Handshake, then you have not yet been activated.

Award Amount

On average, successful applicants will receive a grant of $4,000 for the summer.

Application Deadlines

The deadline to apply is 11:59pm onTuesday, February 28, 2017. Decisions will be released by Friday, March 10, 2017.

Application Guide

All students will submit their application through UChicago Handshake. A link to the position listings will be posted once available.

The following materials are required:

1. A curriculum vitae

2. A description of your proposed research project, no longer than two pages

3. A personal statement explaining how this research supports your future career goals, no longer than one page

Curriculum Vitae

Your curriculum vitae (CV) should provide a comprehensive summary of your academic experiences, training, and interests. For a detailed overview on how to prepare an effective CV, visit Career Advancement’s Resume & Interview toolkit or make an appointment to have it reviewed by a Career Advancement adviser. Students are also strongly encouraged to have their CV reviewed by faculty members in their field of interest.

Research Project Description

In your project description, please provide a concise summary of the research you’ll be working on. Be sure to:

Identify the faculty member that has agreed to work with you

Provide an overview of the research project and its goals using language that is accessible to a reader who is not familiar with your discipline

Explain what specific research tasks you’ll be performing throughout the summer

Personal Statement

You will use your personal statement to explain why you want to participate in this project and how it will advance your career goals. In your statement, you should discuss what type of graduate program you intend to apply to and how this experience will prepare you to succeed in graduate school and beyond. Some additional topics you can incorporate into your statement include:

Relevant knowledge and skills that you will gain

Publication opportunities

How this project can help you clarify your academic and professional interests

Opportunities to present your research or attend conferences

Questions?

Please contact Melinda Markert at mmarkert@uchicago.edu with any questions about the College Summer Research Fellows Fund.

Laura Rossi, AB'18

Laura Rossi, AB'18

As a student interested in pursuing a PhD program down the road, Laura saw her College Research Fellowship as an opportunity to start her research experience, improve her coding abilities, and learn to parse large sets of data. In her work with Professor of Political Science John Brehm, Laura has analyzed Tweets about Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination in the context of collective action and mass politics.

I would say that developing good relationships with professors whose work students are interested in is very important not only in terms of obtaining research opportunities but also to get the best out of the college experience that UChicago grants. Going to professors’ office hours is worth making time for.